This month, Business Insider broadcasted a story about a Reuters report looking into the alarming rate of children in New York City who have been continually exposed to elevated levels of lead. Most neighborhoods in the city have nearly eliminated the threat of lead poisoning, however the city’s most recent annual report on lead poisoning showed over 5,000 children had elevated blood lead levels.

Lead contamination problems in New York City have occurred even after the implementation of programs to combat lead poisoning had been introduced in the city, dating all the way back to the 1960’s ban on lead paint. New York City is just one of the many areas across the United States struggling with lead exposure concerns in children.

Exposure to lead can be harmful to people of all ages, but it is particularly harmful to the developing brain and nervous system of young children and fetuses. Lead exposure can affect nearly every system in the body and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states that no safe blood lead level in children has been identified.

“Two of the primary ways children are exposed to lead include ingestion and inhalation,” said Joseph Frasca, Senior Vice President of Marketing at EMSL Analytical, Inc. “Lead exposure can occur with no obvious symptoms for some time. The only way to know for sure if there are lead exposure risks on the inside or outside of a building is to have it tested.”

EMSL Analytical, Inc. offers comprehensive lead testing services, sampling supplies and even an easy-to-use Lead in Paint & Dust Test Kit and a Drinking Water Test Kit. They have also sponsored an educational video about possible signs and symptoms of lead poisoning in children that can be seen at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HprCSwxWl0k.